Bacon Jam (a.k.a. Oooh-Mommy! Jam)

You know food is going to make you happy when it smiles at you. (Probably could’ve made a buck selling a smiling egg yolk on eBay, but honey? There was no way I was walking away from this breakfast. And even if I did, there were twelve people waiting to take over the job for me this morning.)

My love of bacon has been pretty well documented (proof of my bacon-obsession) but I can honestly tell you that today’s recipe, Bacon Jam, is the my favorite way I’ve ever eaten it.

I’m just going to say right here -at the beginning- that this is one of the hardest pieces I’ve ever written. I’ve flogged my brain for hours, but the fact is, there aren’t enough superlatives to describe how core-shakingly good this bacon jam is. It is umami jam. It is Ooo-Mommy jam.

Since every way I conceived to ‘splain this jam ends up sounded like a big, fat cliche in my brain (lip-smacking, mouth-watering, etc…) I thought a few anecdotes about the power of this Ooooh-Mommy, holy-cow, sweet-crappy-pappy-this-is-good jam might do the job.

While this jam was cooking, a neighbor (who we haven’t met in the three years we’ve lived here) came over to introduce himself. He didn’t say as much, but I assume the smell drew him since he kept looking over at the stove where my pot of bacon jam bubbled away. He left as a friend. He’ll be back. I’m sure of it.

I was chatting with my friend, Krysta, who lives on the opposite coast, telling her how the scent of the cooking jam made me want to gnaw my own leg off at the ankle. She realized she had the ingredients and decided to make it right then and there. Within an hour she was drooling all over the place. Ask her. She’ll tell you.

When my beloved, The Evil Genius, tasted Bacon Jam for the first time, his eyes rolled back into his head and he said, “Ooooh- Mommy.” While my husband is a food guy, those are reactions that he just doesn’t have. That equals spectacular food.

We had a grown-up slumber party last night (Okay, not just grown-ups. Four adults and nine children. The kids were tucked in and it was party time, Foodie With Family style. We were hard-core. We broke out the Gilbert and Sullivan and sang along. You haven’t played a drinking game until you have to take a sip every time someone in ‘Pirates of Penzance’ says ‘duty’!) This morning, breakfast was toasted slabs of fresh homemade bread smeared with bacon jam that we heated in a cast-iron frying pan next to sunny side up eggs. Our friends and their kids have now moved into our house.

Speaking of these friends… While we collectively munched our breakfasts, our dear Daytons, Pamela and Jon, helped us hash out just why a Bacon Jam topped piece of toast with a fried egg was superior to the traditional fare of bacon, eggs, and toast. Jon observed that with Bacon Jam and fried egg on toast, you get the taste of bacon, egg, and toast in every bite. Because of his keen insight, he got double rations and the ability to choose the keyword the next time we all indulge in our Gilbert and Sullivan proclivities.

This post is special for one other reason. The aforementioned Krysta happens to have a pretty stylin’ food blog. You have read Evil Chef Mom, right? I really did tease her about the salty, sweet, meaty, maple-y, coffee-tinged dutch-oven-of-joy that I had just created, and she really did inventory her pantry and chill-chest and make her own batch. We waxed rhapsodic over our new discovery. And more than that, we decided that we both needed to post this at the very same time, because Bacon Jam turned us into giddy little teenage girls who buy and wear matching Johnny Depp* t-shirts. Hop on over to Evil Chef Mom and read Krysta’s reflections on the recipe. She tried the recipe using Martha Stewart’s original instructions (using a slow-cooker.)

*Or somebody. But probably Johnny Depp. Because he could be the Bacon Jam of actors. Or not. But probably he is.

You can join the Bacon Jam Club, Krysta and I aren’t exclusive. We want the whole world to know this joy. Just be warned, once you try it, it’s like the mob. There’s no going back.

8 cloves garlic, smashed with the flat side of a knife or a pan and peeled

1 cup cider vinegar

1 cup packed light-brown sugar

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1 1/2 cups very strong brewed black coffee

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cut the bacon slices into one inch strips. Add the bacon to a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook the bacon, stirring frequently, until the bacon is browned. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper-towel lined plate. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings into a heat-proof jar with a tight-fitting lid.*

*Save the bacon drippings in the refrigerator. That’s too much flavor to trash!

Place the Dutch oven back over the medium-high heat and add the onions and garlic.

Stir well and reduce heat to medium. Continue to cook for about 8 minutes, or until the onions are mostly translucent.

Add the remaining ingredients, stir well, and drop heat again, this time to low.

Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, and boil hard for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, stir the browned bacon into the onions and liquid.

Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally to make sure things aren’t sticking, adding 1/4 cup of water if it seems to be drying out. When the onions are meltingly soft and the liquid is thick and syrupy, remove the dutch oven from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes.

Transfer the contents of the Dutch oven to the work bowl of a food processor that has been fitted with a blade. Fit the lid in place and pulse several times or until the Bacon Jam is a spreadable consistency. Scrape into a jar (or jars) or a container with a tight fitting lid.

Store in the refrigerator for up to one month or the freezer for up to six months!

8 cloves garlic, smashed with the flat side of a knife or a pan and peeled

1 cup cider vinegar

1 cup packed light-brown sugar

½ cup pure maple syrup

1½ cups very strong brewed black coffee

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Cut the bacon slices into one inch strips. Add the bacon to a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook the bacon, stirring frequently, until the bacon is browned. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper-towel lined plate. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings into a heat-proof jar with a tight-fitting lid.*

*Save the bacon drippings in the refrigerator. That's too much flavor to trash!

Place the Dutch oven back over the medium-high heat and add the onions and garlic. Stir well and reduce heat to medium. Continue to cook for about 8 minutes, or until the onions are mostly translucent. Add the remaining ingredients, stir well, and drop heat again, this time to low.

Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, and boil hard for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, stir the browned bacon into the onions and liquid.

Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally to make sure things aren't sticking, adding ¼ cup of water if it seems to be drying out. When the onions are meltingly soft and the liquid is thick and syrupy, remove the dutch oven from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes.

Transfer the contents of the Dutch oven to the work bowl of a food processor that has been fitted with a blade. Fit the lid in place and pulse several times or until the Bacon Jam is a spreadable consistency. Scrape into a jar (or jars) or a container with a tight fitting lid. Store in the refrigerator for up to one month or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Can be served cold, room temperature or warmed.

Notes

The bacon jam could take up to 3 hours to reduce to a syrupy consistency. Just stick with it!

Rebecca – do you have any recommendations/specifications re bacon, ie smoked, center-cut, on the fatty side etc etc? I know, how bad could it be regardless right? But I want to get the oohhh mammie perfection!

I saw this on Tastespotting and my first reaction to the caption was “breakfast doesn’t need rethinking, I love breakfast the way it is” but I changed my mind pretty much as soon as I started reading. THIS LOOKS INCREDIBLE! I will make this at the first available opportunity.

Okay, I have a question. I’m thinking about making this for my “pay-it-forward” FB thing (no, I still haven’t done them), and I wondered how well it would mail? Would I need to send with dry ice, or officially canned, or any of the above? I don’t want to harm my friends, but I have some long-distance bacon love to satisfy …

@April Dry ice would work fine as would pressure canning. I haven’t done the research on how long and at which pressure to can it, but I’m certain it could be done.

@Sarah I tell you, it’s powerful that way…

@Christine Thus far, I’ve only used smoked, not necessarily center cut. One school of thought would tell you to use the besty-best bacon you can find, but I think a good middle of the road bacon does the job nicely. Since you’re adding other strong flavors (onion, garlic, coffee, maple, etc…) it seems a shame to use the best stand-alone bacon.

@Amanda I don’t blame you. Just be sure you have reading material handy since you won’t be able to move after doing so (Says the voice of experience.)

you had me at bacon jam.
but… does it have a huge maple-y flavor? because i am really not a fan of maple. I was thinking maybe i could substitute corn syrup or something of the same consistency… you think?

Kelly- The maple flavor really is not very pronounced, in my opinion. If you’re concerned, I’d say a dark honey or dark Karo syrup would be a fair substitute. But really? I didn’t taste maple OR coffee in it. It was more of a really intense bacony bacon flavor. (Did that make any sense?)

Cat- Ain’t it the truth? Bacon jam solves those problems. If Connor pokes him/her in the eye again, just rub a little bacon jam on it.

James- Bacon Jam is pretty much Bacon Marmalade. Semantics Try this on for size and you probably won’t order any more!

Im doing a bit of pantry preparedness due to a winter storm threatening. I figured it would be a nice spreadable for meals should I lose electric this week. I used 9lbs of bacon and made 3 batches today. Im on a special diet that doesnt let me eat it (or even taste test). Ours made about 2pt per batch. I used fresh cracked pepper in one batch, but replaced that with organic chipotle powder in the other two batches and they preferred the chipotle version. Said it tastes like bacony bbq sauce and they can hardly wait to have it on broiled goat cheese toast for breakfast tomorrow. Thanks for the recipe. Its a keeper :o)

That recipe is to die for~! I will be making this again and again! The only thing I might do next time is put less sugar in, it turned out a little to sweet. But I would highly recommend this recipe to any bacon fan… especially maple bacon fan!

I think I may have a girl crush on you. I love, love, love bacon (make my own); love Gilbert & Sullivan (love to play it while putting on the face for a party – never thought of a drinking game); and am SOOO jealous I didn’t think of Oooh-Mommy. I’ll be making this soon. I don’t care for egg whites so I’ll be making sous vide eggs where the yolks are just done enough to carefully peel the whites off (custardy egg yolks! with the consistency of lemon curd) spread on toast with bacon jam. I may die and go to heaven.

Really nice and certainly very tasty. Never had this and I think it’s time for me to change that. Only I can’t find English Bacon in the south of France. Can I substitute it with “Lardons” (smoked or not pork belly, I think it’s the right translation)
Keep the work going. I’ll be following ur blog and I plan on trying every of ur recipes.

A coworker and I just went on a bacon frenzy, making Bacon Explosion and this. We determined that the Bacon Explosion was an interesting experiment that we would never need to repeat (for the sake of our arteries). THIS however, I will make this over, and over, and over, and over again. Holy cow.

I have plans this weekend to grill a bell pepper, crack an egg into it with some bacon jam and slap it back on the grill again.

If brunch were a competition, this would have to be banned for tipping the scales too far.

I make Jams and Jellies for my living and have been asked about Bacon Jam many times. I started looking for a recipe and came across yours (Martha’s) and ready to try it. A big thanks from me and my customers.

I introduced this bacon jam to my campground regulars at a breakfast on Saturday morning. Not only had NO ONE every heard of bacon jam but it was hailed as absolutely the best invention ever and was enthusiastically received by all. On a grilled english muffin with a fried egg on top…just about heaven on earth. Others suggested putting it on a hamburger……can you say “yuuuuummmmm” in several languages????? Well, yummmmmmmmm.

What about cheese? One of our favorite pizzas is onion jam and goat cheese or Boursin but my daughter suggested this instead. I think she loves the smell of bacon and wants me to slow cook some. Perhaps sharp cheddar? We’re having foodie friends for dinner Saturday and am always looking for a way to knock them out. I’ll probably do focaccia instead as it’s more entertainment friendly.

BTW- pine nuts are a great addition to the onion/goat cheese pizza but only if you can find European nuts. The Chinese are not the real deal and can leave a metallic aftertaste.

I must say that I am drooling, or at least I was until I saw that coffee was one of the ingredients. Is there any way that this could be made without the coffee. I cannot stand the stuff and won’t use it at all. I won’t keep it in my house, I detest the smell and the taste. Please, please tell me I can make this with some other ingredient besides coffee. Thanks for your help.

Rebecca, I found your site yesterday while looking for a Cuban sandwich recipe.
You are an absolute riot! I thoroughly enjoy reading your recipes and your humor!
I freaked out when I read Bacon…Jam! OMG my inlaws are complete bacon freaks! (always ordering extra sides at breakfast)I’m making this TODAY as soon as the bacon store opens!
We’re all going to Venice (FL) to shark tooth dive/hunt over Labor Day and this Jam is going with! Thank You Mmmmmaaaah!

P.S.I’m also going to try and replicate the best sandwich in the world this weekend,It’s
Paseo’s Cuban Roast (little shack in Seattle that has no sign, just a line sometimes 2 blocks long.)

hi rebecca! i found this post on pinterest and had to make it! i wrote about it on my blog and linked yours several times. i am new to this whole blogging thing and am hoping i gave credit appropriately. thanks for sharing, love your blog.

Rebecca, I must say, my house smells AMAZING!! I saw a post “somewhere” yesterday late afternoon with a picture of the Avo/Gorg/Jam/Waffle sammich and about fainted. I then clicked here there and everywhere following a trail of recipes you’d posted to get to the final result. I did have to stop to tinkle 10+ times as your humor is right up my alley!! I had to put all of last nights T.V. programs to DVR so I could run to the market and get 3 lbs of bacon, who on earth that’s a Bacon Addict has any just laying around?? If it’s here, it’s in the fridge…oh heck no…it’s IN THE PAN! I had all the other ingredients and barely slept a wink in anticipation of making it today. 90 mins ago it started the “simmer” phase and I can’t stop “tasting” the juice…yummmm….oooohhhh gotta run, time to stir.

So, I see this post on my friend Steve’s facebook that says something to the effect of, “Bacon Jam…Why have I never heard of this?” I thought, EEEWWW. Picturing a gelatinous mess with a few bits of bacon for texture. I pictured marmalade with bacon grease. Something completely different than what your image of the stuff looks like.
Well, after making the skeptical comments on Steve’s facebook page, I decided I’d better make a batch before he could make one and prove me wrong. I much prefer to prove myself wrong.
This stuff takes forever, when the scent of bacon lingers in the house. Room mates hovering around the stove, hoping for a preview taste. No, no. This stuff takes a solid 3 hours, and I gotta say, its entirely worth the wait. This is the most delicious spreadable taste of heaven that I’ve ever stuffed in my face.
Just be careful not to leave the doors open…We have 7 cats on our porch meowing at us. There should only be 2.
NOMNOMNOM

Sorry, Helen. That’s a big negatory on the boiling water processing. Because there is meat (and fat) it absolutely must be pressure canned if you want to store it in the pantry. I just keep this one in the freezer.

I had never heard of bacon jam until it was mentioned on a blog I frequent. My taste buds said FIND THAT STUFF! I looked at lots of different recipes, and thought yours was the best.

Oh, Lawdy! As they say down here in Georgia, this stuff is good enough to make you slap your momma. I’m glad to hear that it freezes well, but I don’t know if my husband will let it stay around long enough to need freezing. He loves it with sharp cheddar, but sees no reason not to just eat it with a spoon!

The only change I plan on making is cooking the bacon in whole slices next time until they’re nice and crispy and then draining, because I found the smaller pieces a bit difficult to drain thoroughly. Other than that minor quibble this is a perfectly wonderful recipe. Thank you!

BACON JAM!?! seriously! be still mine heart be still. Personally, I think some things should be a food group on their own: bacon is one of them ( homemade lasagna being another)
I will definitely be trying this on the weekend and hiding ALL of it until Christmas….. which is next week, right? I thank you from the bottom of my bacon fat smeared lil’ heart.

O.m.g. this is amazing! Just finished my first batch and am in heaven. I made a small substitution i used whiskey instead of coffee as the hubs doesnt like coffee and it turned out amazing! I cannot wait to slather this on some toast and plop an egg on top.

[…] times during the Year of Meat. It all started with bacon jam, an idea that sprouted after reading this brilliantly charming post by Rebecca. I made several versions of bacon jam, playing the sweet, the spicy, the onion of the jam with the […]

[…] I could probably make it cheaper, and then I would have more to give away. A quick search got me this recipe, which looked pretty good, and I was off and running. It is basically equal parts bacon and onions, […]

[…] decided to make bacon jam puff pastry treats. I got some bacon jam from a pal of mine, and I think this is the recipe for bacon jam. When I run out of bacon jam, I will be making more of it from that recipe. What is not to love […]

[…] well aware of her adoration of anything pork. So when I came across a recipe for Bacon Jam on Foodie with Family, it was pretty much inevitable that we try it out. Just looking over the ingredient list had me […]

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